This is an aerial photo of Linnton, the NW Portland neighborhood where I hang my hat at night. Except I don't wear a hat. I'm simple folk.If you look closely at the photograph I took from my weather balloon just yesterday, you can see Hwy 30 cut right through the center of our neighborhood. It looks like a shadow, I know, but it's not. Trust me.
Like so many communities across the land, Linnton's heart got severed right down its middle to make way for the automobile. But little did those 1950s' traffic engineers realize: moss gets so thick in Linnton between November and March that it's not unusual for traffic to slow to a stand still.
You can't see it in the photo, but the Willamette River runs parallel to Hwy 30. The raging waterway runs along an abandoned plywood mill which is now overrun with moss.
If you're unfamiliar with the environs of sleepy ol' Linnton, let me just say this: the historic Linnton neighborhood is not only composed of moss and homes covered in moss, but Linnton geography offers majestic views of Mt. Saint Helens, Mt. Adams, Mt. Hood, moss, and many magnificent oil tank farms, rusty rail cars, gravel, and warning markers that point to pipelines underfoot. Our awesome Linnton Community Center sits a few feet above invisible petroleum, natural gas, and other flourocarbon-emitting treasures. It's very educational, this place.
This mossy land on the river's edge is wonderfully preserved for the city's economic engine and is protected as an Industrial Sanctuary. And if Linnton hillsiders ever want to get away from all the moss, the Industrial Sanctuary is the place to go. That is, if we can get through the pot holes, fences, razor wire, and security guards. From what I can see, the Industrial Sanctuary is neither green nor mossy. In fact, it appears to be preserved in creosote, Exxon signs, and brown.
Linnton folk are the Siberians of Portland. We're a proud people. Some of us like to think of our close-knit neighborhood as the poor man's Dunthorpe. Whatever. If you're ever on a drive to Sauvie Island and can't make it through the moss, stop in. We'll treat you right. We love our moss because -- if I can be frank -- our moss season is as little known as it is awesome.
